It is known in the art that a film or an electronic camera can record image information on either a film or store the information in electronic memory. It is also known in the art that a wireless transceiver can be used to transmit and receive data. An example of such a device is shown in the copending Ser. No. 08/707,265 and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,348. Digital cameras also have the capability of storing additional information along with the digital image. An example of this is the Kodak DCS 460a digital camera, which is capable of storing voice annotation along with the digital image. Moreover, the film used by the Advanced Photo System.TM., which is sold by the Eastman Kodak Company, allows a film camera to store digital information on a clear magnetic coating on the photographic film. This feature is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,892.
Many participants in tradeshows today take a camera to capture images of the products or booths that they have an interest in. These images are a reminder of the physical characteristics of the product. They are also used at a later time for desktop publishing of compound documents or perhaps for electronic publication of a report. Exhibitors at the show also publish color brochures to be distributed at the show to advertise their products. The cost of printing these brochures has increased in the past few years. A lot of these brochures are thrown away at the end of the show, which decreases their effectiveness as an advertising tool and also adds to the overall cost. Many companies are now posting information about their products to an Internet site, where customers can dial into and download the information they need to a personal computer. Besides needing to obtain Uniform Resource Locator (URL) addresses for the location of these information sites, this also means that the customer needs to go through many pages of information before the needed information is found.
In copending Ser. No. 08/707,265, a photographic and data transmission system is described that includes a wireless communication system and a camera intended for use with the wireless system. The camera includes a receiver for receiving a wireless signal from the wireless communication system, a decoder for decoding the wireless signal obtained by the receiving means, and means for storing the decoded wireless signal and an image captured by the camera. A trigger signal from the camera can be used to initiate transmission of the wireless signal from the wireless communication system. Moreover, the wireless signal preferably contains an Internet address for accessing further information about an item being photographed. Such a camera is of particular use in a tradeshow for conveying information between a wireless communication system in a display booth and a camera brought to the booth by a tradeshow visitor.
A problem with a wireless system is the number of unrelated wireless signals being transmitted at a given time in a given locale, which can lead to interference or to the recording of the wrong wireless signal. It would be desirable to find a convenient way to combine the information handling capability of modern cameras with image recording so that information can easily be accessed about a photographed item without having to depend upon the transmission of wireless signals.